Where Darkness and Light Meet
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to back-of-house facilities, teaching facilities, a café, and various public amenities—nearly 65 percent of the biome footprint is dedicated to the coastal and escarpment cloud forest plant communities, with the remaining 35 percent of the biome showcasing drier, sunnier inland habitats.
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and will provide the added benefit of “exercising” the plants to mimic natural exposure to wind. Unlike most “glasshouses” of the world, this one will be harnessing the power of the sun through photovoltaic panels and a solar array to provide a cool, dark monsoon environment for part of the year, for part of the biome, while still providing the plants of drier, sunnier interior habitats with the light levels they require. Fixed exterior louvres—specific to the annual solar cycle of Muscat—and mechanically retractable interior shading systems will allow for daily customization of light levels within the biome throughout the year. The southern biome is on track to qualify for LEED platinum designation.
The design of the biome—and the landscapes contained within, including plateaus, undulating rocky plains, and a dramatic interior escarpment emulating that of the Dhofar cloud forest—necessitated a collaborative approach between the scientific team of the Oman Botanic Garden and the landscape architects, architects, engineers, and interpretation designers. Many workshops and site visits were required for the entire team to understand the design implications of the deceptively simple fact that plants require energy in the form of sunlight in order to facilitate the production of carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water. The chemical energy produced by this photosynthetic process fuels plant respiration and the production of roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. Of all the radiation that hits the surface of the earth, only certain wavelengths are useful to plants. While plants favour a band of frequencies similar to those used for human vision—the visible light spectrum—plants absorb a higher percentage of energy in the red and blue ends of the spectrum.
While Goethe’s theory of the constitution of the colours of the spectrum first suggested that “colour appears where light and darkness meet,” the design of the southern
biome is fundamentally based on light. The tropical greens of the cloud forest plants and even the delicate white blooms of the famed frankincense tree will put on their seasonal show for all to enjoy thanks to a detailed understanding of the light requirements of an entire ecosystem, and how to translate this into the design of a unique built enclosure. In this case, form doesn’t just follow function, but form follows spectrum. BIO/ oman-based Andrew B. Anderson is a landscape architect and world heritage expert, former chair of the Ground Editorial Board, and a long-time member of the Ground Advisory Panel. 01/
Rendering of the southern biome escarpment cloud forest interior at the Oman Botanic Garden
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Andrew B. Anderson
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Baobab tree in southern Oman
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Andrew B. Anderson
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Low light levels and lush green vegetation of the monsoon
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Andrew B. Anderson
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Rendering of the southern biome, Oman Botanic Garden
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Andrew B. Anderson
The roof height of the southern biome undulates based on the tree heights of each of the sub-habitats sheltered beneath its glass. At its highest point, the biome will enclose soaring 25-metre-tall baobab trees (Adansonia digitata) that will emerge from an endemic forest of Anogeissus dhofarica trees. The siting, orientation, and technical design of the biome is entirely dedicated to providing the plants with the optimal light intensity and spectral distribution, while minimizing solar gain. Natural ventilation in the cool winter months will eliminate the need for mechanical cooling
